


Baby Steps

by notjustmom



Series: One More Vow [3]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 05:37:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21085733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: This story picks up where we left off at the end of "The Set-Up."





	1. Stephen

"Dadadadadadadaaaaaa..."

He started awake and had to look around for a brief moment before he remembered where he was. 

"Daaaaadaaaaaa...."

Peter. Right. He turned his head and found Tony curled up next to him, still sound asleep somehow. He reached for his pants, pulled out his phone and blinked at the time. "2:52." 

He tried to calculate how many hours of sleep he'd had, and gave up after a moment as he heard Peter grumble out, over the monitor once again, "Dadadadadaaa..." He honestly had no clue about babies, at least, he supposed, Peter qualified as a toddler, but even he could tell his voice was on the edge of panic, so he bit his lip, brushed a kiss over Tony's shoulder, then quickly pulled on his shirt and pants, and found his way back to the little boy's nursery.

As he entered the room, Peter was standing up in his crib, not quite crying, but on the verge, and he wasn't quite sure what the best approach was in this scenario. There were reasons he had decided against those specialties that focused on children, and his one Pediatrics rotation cemented his decision to go into cardiology, but Peter stopped babbling and even in the dimly lit room, Stephen could see the sparkle in the boy's warm brown eyes, so much like his father's, and he seemed to study him before lifting his arms up as if asking to be picked up. 

He shook his head as if that simple act would reorganize his jumbled thoughts, then reached into the crib and pulled out the boy who seemed heavier than he expected, and let out a surprised sigh as Peter grabbed onto his shirt and tucked himself against his shoulder, as if he belonged there. He turned at a sound behind him, and found Tony smiling gently at him. 

"Sorry -"

"No, it's fine, I'm usually a light sleeper if I sleep at all, but I -" Stephen couldn't help but grin as a warm blush spread over Tony's cheeks, and he knew he was the reason for the exhaustion. Tony cleared his throat and whispered, "I'm not embarrassed, really - it's, just -"

Stephen mumbled back with a wink, "you have nothing to be embarrassed about, as far as I'm concerned." He took a couple steps towards him and watched as Peter all but launched himself into his father's arms, then settled against him and closed his eyes again, with a tiny contented, "Daaaaaa." He watched in silence as Tony carried him into the room and laid him on the changing table, and efficiently changed his diaper and outfit, then lifted Peter back into his arms and turned to face him. 

He froze as he saw the clash of emotions in Tony's eyes, and wondered if he was seeing the same panic and doubt in his own gaze. He wished he knew the magic words that would erase the fear he saw there, but he knew this was real life, not a fairy tale, and all he knew to do was to wrap his arms lightly around his waist and mumble, "I'm a little hungry, I'll find something to heat up from last night?"

Tony nodded, and offered him a hesitant smile. Stephen let out a relieved sigh that he had guessed right, then kissed him softly and left the room, slowly making his way to the kitchen. He paused for a moment as he noticed that there was already a light on, then shrugged and drew in a deep breath and let it go slowly, as the scent of pot roast and mashed potatoes made him realize how truly hungry he was.

"Sorry. I was on my way to get Peter, but I could tell you were already in there. Hungry?"

Stephen nodded and dropped into a chair at the table.

"I hope -" she began, then seemed to change her mind and as she turned away from him, he became truly aware just how important Tony's happiness was to her. She placed a full plate in front of him, then looked into his eyes, and offered him a relieved smile as she dropped into the chair across from him. She watched as he sighed as he took his first bite, then put his fork down and waited for her to say what she needed to say. "Peter likes you already."

"How do you know that?"

"He let you pick him up. We don't have a lot of visitors here, but he definitely has an idea about people already. He would have let you know he didn't like you the minute you walked into his room." She looked down at her hands in her lap then looked up at him again. "It's been a long time since he's been this happy, actually, I'm not sure I've ever seen him like this before. I have to warn you -" She stopped and shook her head. "Never mind, you are both adults, and I think you have a pretty good idea -"

"Baby steps."

She laughed, and flashed him a grin. "Baby steps, right. I'm going back to bed. Our day usually starts early - thanks, Stephen."

He nodded at her, and watched as she left the kitchen, then returned his focus to the dinner in front of him until he felt Tony's strong fingers rest on his shoulders and he let the fork fall from his fingers as he leaned his head back to gaze into the warm brown eyes that smiled down at him, and he knew he had found his home.

"What is it?" Tony asked him quietly.

"I -" Again, he was at a loss for words, and he gave up, and simply surrendered to the light he saw in Tony's eyes.

Tony smiled at him, and breathed a kiss over his forehead. "Yeah, me too, Stephen, me too."


	2. Tony

He couldn't remember the last time he woke up so easily, and knew it had to do with - he sat up and looked around for a moment, then turned up the volume on the baby monitor - it was on the bedside table next to Stephen's side, the side Stephen had ended up sleeping on, don't get ahead of yourself, Stark. 

It was just one night, just a few mind-blowing hours. Nothing life changing...

He took a breath to clear his head and smiled as he heard the small sounds of Peter bouncing slightly on his toes and then his babbling came to a stop. He slipped out of bed and silently made his way to the nursery, in time to see Stephen lift Peter out of the crib and into his arms. He couldn't see either of their faces, but he could tell by Stephen's body language that Peter had instinctively curled against him as he did with only those people he knew and trusted. He shifted his weight and at the slight noise, Stephen turned to face him.

"Sorry -"

Tony shook his head and whispered, "No, it's fine, I'm usually a light sleeper if I sleep at all, but I -" he rolled his eyes as he felt his face flush as Stephen grinned at him, and he tried to erase the image in his mind from earlier that evening -"I'm not embarrassed, really - it's, just -"

The corner of Stephen's mouth quirked up even more, and he winked as he murmured, "you have nothing to be embarrassed about, as far as I'm concerned," and his mind fizzled to a stop as Stephen moved closer, and all he wanted was to be curled around him again. He refocused quickly as Peter opened his eyes and launched himself into his arms with a happy, "Daaaaaa." He pressed a kiss into the soft auburn curls, then moved into the nursery and changed the boy's outfit and diaper, as quickly as he always had, lifted him into his arms, then slowly turned back to look at the man who still stood in the room. 

He tried to calm his breathing, but he couldn't control the chaotic mishmash of thoughts and feelings that ran through his mind at that moment, as everything seemed to come down to this single point in time. He tried to read what was in Stephen's eyes, but all he saw was kindness, and possibly a bit of surprise, and maybe, just maybe a bit of love, already? He held his breath as Stephen reached out and draped his arms around his waist and held on for a breath, before he mumbled, "I'm a little hungry, I'll find something to heat up from last night?"

All he could do nod and smile at him, then close his eyes as Stephen kissed him lightly and left the room. He took a deep breath and let it out again, then carefully collapsed into the recliner and held Peter just a little tighter in his arms, and breathed in his scent, as the little boy moved closer against him and sighed, "Daa," before he went back to sleep. He sat still for a couple of minutes, then got to his feet, placed Peter in his crib, and after leaning over him and kissing him one last time, turned and walked out of the nursery, closing the door behind him.

He started walking toward the kitchen, but stopped short as he could hear Pepper talking to Stephen. He hadn't had anyone stay the night since he had returned from Afghanistan, and he waited for her to begin her interrogation. She had been his buffer between himself and the world since childhood. She had introduced him to Annie, and somehow convinced him that he was worthy of being with her, and was there when he had escaped from the cave, only to return home to learn his world had collapsed, leaving him with a six-month old son and a broken heart. 

He bit his lip as he moved closer to hear her words clearly, and blinked back tears he couldn't explain as Pepper muttered, "It's been a long time since he's been this happy, actually, I'm not sure I've ever seen him like this before. I have to warn you -" She stopped and turned just enough to catch him out of the corner of her eye and she shook her head. "Never mind, you are both adults, and I think you have a pretty good idea -"

"Baby steps." Stephen suggested, and she laughed in response.

"Baby steps, right. I'm going back to bed. Our day usually starts early - thanks, Stephen." 

He watched as she got to her feet and left the kitchen, taking the long way back to her suite of rooms, leaving them on their own again. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall for a few minutes to regain his composure, then cleared his mind and walked into the kitchen and lightly placed his hands on Stephen's shoulders. He felt his shoulders drop under his fingers and watched as he let go of the fork, then looked up at him with the same look he had seen in Peter's room, and somehow Tony knew he had found true love again. To find it once had been something he had never expected, to be fortunate enough to find it in the man who returned his smile so gently was no more than a miracle, though he wasn't quite sure he believed in them.

"What is it?" He wanted to know, needed to know what he was thinking, then suddenly knew, knew more than he had ever known anything that he felt the same way.

"I -"

He couldn't help but smile and after he breathed a kiss over Stephen's forehead, and whispered, "Yeah, me too, Stephen, me too," he helped Stephen to his feet and led him back to bed.


	3. Stephen & Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a bit of thinky thoughts and a bit of explicitude...

There should be some discussion, Stephen considered as they re-entered the bedroom. Some reasonable exchange of thoughts as to what was happening between them should take place before, before, _what_? He already knew, had known from the moment their eyes met in the bookshop that he was already lost. Or was he finally found? 

After a brief negotiation with himself, he knew he barely had the energy to remain standing upright for much longer, let alone find the right words that would communicate everything that was going through his mind at the moment, and he simply surrendered to what he wanted.

He felt Tony tremble under his fingers as he untied the loose knot that barely kept Tony's bathrobe closed, and as he pushed it from his broad shoulders, they took a breath together as Tony slowly leaned against his chest and held on, uncertainly at first, then as they breathed out in unison, Stephen could feel the strength in his arms as his tightened his grip around him. He realized then, that they already shared a language, or at least an understanding of each other that he had never experienced with anyone before. It went beyond thought and sensation, and if he were of a certain mind, he might consider it otherworldly, but his train of thought derailed as Tony slowly uncurled from him and he was slowly being undressed again, and all he wanted was to be seen and known by the man who was grinning up at him, no longer uncertain.

No words were spoken as they finally fell into bed, and Tony nestled against him, and he wondered at how easily they seemed to fit together, two singular souls - _souls_? He glared fiercely at the pre-dawn darkness as if daring it to take what he had just claimed as his in some small way, and as his arms settled protectively around Tony, warm dry lips pressed a single kiss over his chest, over the heart that had just shattered wide open. And he finally understood what the poets and songwriters meant when they tried to explain their love to a wider world, when Tony mumbled, "love you, Sunshine," then easily drifted off to sleep in his arms. 

He whispered back softly, "yeah, love you, too, Tony," and he knew that at moment, that was all that mattered. He fought to stay awake in case, just in case, these few moments of peace were all that they would have, but eventually the exhaustion overcame his senses and the stillness invited him to a dreamless rest for once.

For the first time in over a year, hell, it had been well before Afghanistan, he woke up feeling rested, and he couldn't recall any of the nightmares that usually followed him on those rare nights when he managed to sleep. He hummed in easy contentment and closed his eyes again, as he felt arms pull him close and a sleep-roughened voice rumbled at his ear, "good morning."

His brain tried to focus enough to come up with a coherent response, but long fingers carefully traced the scars on his shoulders, then worked their way slowly down his spine and finally came to a rest on his hip, as if they belonged there. After a few moments, he wondered at the unusual silence, but before he could ask, the voice continued on, "Pepper and Peter went out to run errands, she said she would bring back donuts. I called in well today, I'm sure people will think I was kidnapped or something, I haven't missed a day of work in years. I can't remember the last time I slept so well. I was going to make coffee, but I couldn't, I didn't want you to wake up on your own, and wonder -" 

Stephen took a breath and the tumble of words faltered. Tony slowly rolled up to sitting, the usual aches and pains were still present, but as he gazed into Stephen's kaleidoscopic eyes, he understood that he was truly no longer alone, and he felt lighter than he had in years. He leaned down and laid a single finger over the plush lips, silencing any words that might escape, but let out a sigh as Stephen kissed the tip of his finger and offered him a devilish grin. 

"We have time -" Stephen began, but his next words were stolen by a kiss of such gentle sweetness, and all he could do was move his hands into Tony's hair and hold on for dear life.

Tony pulled away and nodded at the man who was still trembling as he straddled his legs and held his face in his strong, steady hands, "yeah, I know, Sunshine. We have all the time in the world." At least for now, he thought to himself, but couldn't bear to speak those words aloud as Stephen whispered his name as if it were a prayer, then groaned as Tony moved against him. He knew neither of them would last long, but he didn't care, as he watched Stephen's eyes darken then close as he shifted once again. Stephen's name was on the tip of his tongue as Stephen touched him just once and his world imploded in a burst of white noise, then time simply came to a stop, until he remembered he needed to breathe.


	4. A Month

Tony looked at himself in the mirror before he picked up his razor, and wondered at the version of himself who stared back. Just a month, it had only been a month since they had met at the bookshop. Because of Stephen’s schedule they only managed to see each other a couple of times during the week, but the weekends… the weekends were -

He shivered, then laid the razor down again as he closed his eyes and remembered how Stephen smiled at him just this morning, was it really just a little over an hour ago? Stephen was sitting across from Peter, watching him happily shove cheerios into his mouth, then glanced up and smiled as Tony entered the kitchen. He had blinked back at him and Stephen cleared his throat as he got up to pour him a cup of coffee and placed it into his hands, then spoke quietly, “Peter had a bit of a nightmare, you were still asleep, and it was late enough -” Tony had put the coffee down and kissed his next words away, then smiled shyly at him, and retrieved his coffee, mostly to give his hands something to do.

“I have to go,” the warm, deep voice was at his ear, then his lips were on his jawline, and he felt all the tension fall from his shoulders. “Last night was…”

“Yeah, it was - see you Friday night?”

“I’ll bring pizza?”

“Sounds perfect. You are -” 

Stephen’s hands settled on his hips and he sighed as he turned him and gazed down into his eyes. “I’m not perfect, far from it, and you know it.”

Tony shook his head, and laid his hands on the angular face - the face he was quickly getting to know: the moods, the eye-rolls, his insecurities as well as the arrogance that nearly matched his own. “You are perfect for me. I, uhm - I’ll see you Friday.”

Stephen grinned, and kissed his forehead, then whispered, “yeah, I love you, too, Stark.”

Tony nodded, and blushed furiously. He wondered that hearing those words for nearly a month now, either in person or over the phone in the too early hours of the morning when he couldn’t be there, still made his brain shudder to a dead stop. He had been the one to first utter the words that first morning, to make some sort of claim on the man in his arms, but he found it difficult - “Stephen.”

A long finger stopped further discussion, and Stephen smiled gently at him, then shook his head. “I know, you don’t have to say the words for me to know how you feel about me. Words. Sometimes they make things more complicated. This, you and Pete, us, whatever we are now, whatever this might become, isn’t complicated for me. I know. I know how I feel about you, and if I didn’t enjoy my job so damn much -”

“Move in here, with me, with us.” Tony covered his mouth with his hand as the last word left his mouth. 

“What?” 

Tony shook his head and moved his hand away then blushed and turned away, as he saw the look in Stephen’s eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no, don’t be sorry. I’d love nothing more than to wake up every morning next to you. Tony. Look at me. Doll-face.” Tony rolled his eyes, then slowly turned back to look up into Stephen’s eyes. Silver, they were silver this morning. “There is nowhere else I’d rather be than with you, I think you know that. It’s just, I’ve been on my own for so long, I’m not saying no, I’m not, I’m not afraid of… hell. Yeah, I’m afraid, I’m terrified that one day, you will look at me, and I’ll see it in your eyes that you’d decided that I’m not enough and changed your mind-”

“Stephen.”

“Honestly, I just don’t know what I would do. It’s only been a month, and people, people who have known me for years, they catch me whistling when I’m walking down the hallways, I’m smiling, actually smiling at people, opening doors for other people, in other words, I’m a fucking mess, Tony. I’ve never been happier, and I’m terrified -”

Tony grinned at him, then kissed him until they both needed to come up for air. “You are it for me. I don’t understand it either, honestly, all I know is that you - you make me want to be a better person, I breathe easier when you are here, and I - yeah, I’m scared too. I’m scared too, Stephen, but I know -.”

Stephen nodded, and whispered, “just give me a little time, doll-face?”

“Yes, of course, take all the time you need.” 

“I’ll see you Friday.”

“Friday.”

And then, he was gone.

Three hours later, as he was pressing an ice pack to his head after another attempt to work the kinks out of the rockets in his boots ended with a close encounter with a wall, the answer came. 

Have time to help me move this weekend? xox - S


	5. Time

“Stephen?”

“Hey, got time to talk?” She nodded and opened the door, and watched him walk into her apartment. “I’ve, well - I’m…”

“You’re going to move in with him.”

“Yeah. I know it’s crazy.”

“Why is it crazy?” 

“I’ve known him a month, Chrissy.”

“So, what?”

“He’s got a kid…”

She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, dropped her hip and waited for him to go on.

“I love him.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I really, really, love him, Chrissy.”

“I know. I’ve seen you at work, these last few weeks, your work has only gotten better. You were always brilliant, meticulous, but the joy is back. I’d forgotten what you used to be like, in the beginning, the sheer joy you had when you worked, it’s back, but it’s different this time. You carry yourself differently, I don't know, might sound corny, but his love makes you stand up taller, and you can't stop smiling. I’ve never seen you so happy before, and it’s, I know you’re scared, but it’s good. It’s so good, Stephen. But, just give him a message from me, if he hurts you, I swear to -”

Stephen wrapped his arms around her and held her for a long moment. “I’m going to miss you, Chrissy. No, I’m not quitting, I’ll just miss having you to talk to, I’ll miss our movie nights. You know -”

“Yeah, I know, idiot, need some help packing?”

“Pepper?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you come down here for a minute?”

“What is it?”

“Just, please?”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Tony?” She looked around the workshop until she lowered her gaze and found him sitting on the floor with his phone in his hand.

“He said yes.”

“Who said -” She carefully helped him to his feet and rolled her eyes. “Stephen. When is he moving in?”

“This weekend. It’s, I’m -”

“You’re happy, Tony Stark. You’re just in love, not insane, well, not any more than the usual. It’s okay for you to be happy, and no, I won’t leave. Unless, I mean -”

“Pep. No, this is your home, I want you to stay. Will you, stay, please?”

“Of course, I will. This is a good thing, Tony, it is, a very good thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Now, come on, you have work to do.”

Tony swore as the left boot malfunctioned again, spinning him hard to the floor with a thud once again. He had lost track of how many times he had hit the deck over the last couple of days. He shook his head and waggled a warning finger at DUM-E, who was poised to let him have it with the extinguisher, again, and he wondered why the hell he was even trying at this point, why did it matter, anyway? He activated the release on both boots, and did his best not to hurl them away from himself, weeks of work - for what, exactly? Then he glanced up at the muted television he always had on, again, he didn’t know why he bothered, but as he stretched out on the floor and closed his eyes, he found himself back in the cave with Yinsen:

_“What do you have to go back for, what is important to you, Stark?”_

_“I have a wife, and a baby, a boy, Peter, he turned three months old the day I left.”_

_“So, you have a family to fight for, Stark, so fight for them, if not for yourself, fight to get home for them…”_

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as if he could stop the next inevitable memory that followed, Pepper’s face when he had limped off of the plane, and searched in vain for Annie, surely she would be there waiting for him. He blinked at the ceiling as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, saved by the bell…

“Hey. Yeah, I’m okay, what am I doing? Laying on the floor of my workshop. Sunshine, no, I’m, I’m just - working the kinks out of -” He closed his eyes and listened as Stephen’s voice coaxed him away from the images that haunted him, and into whatever the future might hold. “I know, it’s already Wednesday. Stephen. I love you. Yeah, I’ll do my best. See you on Friday.” 

He groaned as he slowly sat up then got to his feet, and wandered over to his workstation, where he stared at the numbers that were blurring together. Great… another concussion. He snorted and rubbed his eyes, then turned up the volume on the speaker that connected to Peter’s room.

“Daaaaa -” 

“He’s working, Pete, but he’ll be up soon, and then we’ll have dinner, and then story time.” 

He started and looked down at his watch, how could it be already after six? Time, or at least the illusion of time had become something of a touchstone for him. In the cave, he was never sure how much time had passed, whether it was day or night, except for the times when they dragged him out to remind him again why he was there, to show him what he had spent his life building. He sighed as his phone went off again, and yanked it from his pocket.

Breathe, doll-face, just remember to breathe, I’m on my way over. xox

“Tony?”

He opened his eyes to find Stephen kneeling in front of him, a worried look on his face, his large, beautiful hands resting lightly on his knees.

“Hey, Sunshine.”

“Pepper’s feeding Peter, and then she’s going to put him to bed, no. Don’t argue with me, doll-face. Think you can stand?”

He felt himself shrug, then he heard a grumbling sigh, as strong arms curled around him and lifted him, and warm lips were in his hair as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep for the first time in two days.


	6. Exhale

Stephen sighed as he gazed down at Tony as he moved in his sleep. It was obvious he had done nothing but work and take care of Peter over the last couple of days. Clearly, sleeping had not been on his agenda. He ran his fingers lightly through his hair, then turned to see Pepper standing in the doorway, and slipped silently from the room. 

“He’s always been like this,” Pepper admitted with a rueful smirk as she stared into her cup of tea. “Long as I can remember.”

“Just how long have you known him? Sorry, just curious, it’s really none of my business -”

“No, it’s fine. He is your business now, I think you knew that already, though. I met him, hell, it’s been over thirty, closer to forty years, now. My father worked for his father, and we grew up together. He was the brother I didn’t have and I, well, I was the only one who reminded him that he was actually human. Everyone else, because of what he could do, treated him like a machine, to the point where he came to believe it himself.” She picked up her tea and blew on it, then took a sip, and glanced over at Stephen, and it was more than obvious he hadn’t been sleeping all that well either the last couple of days. “Go on, I’ll keep an ear out for Peter.”

He offered her an exhausted half-grin, and whispered, “thank you, Pepper,” then quietly left the kitchen, and stopped short in the doorway of the bedroom, and watched as Tony fought against something or someone, entangling himself in the sheets, then, without another thought, he moved into the room, undressed, and slipped into the bed.

“I’m here, doll-face, I’m here.” He curled around Tony, and breathed out a sigh of relief as the frantic movements came to a stop, and he rested his head against Stephen’s chest, and eventually, his arms and legs became entwined with his own, as he finally realized he was safely at home again. “You’re home, you’re safe, love. You’re safe, I promise.” 

“Tony. Tony, open your eyes for me, hey, there you are. I have to go to work, can’t be helped, I’ll be back tonight, I want you to rest today, hmm? I’ll bring home dinner, and I’ll sit downstairs with you, and watch that you don’t kill yourself, just sleep today, please. I love you, so fucking much, you know that, yeah? And Peter needs you, he needs you to be here, for him, okay? You are so very needed, Tony Stark.” He watched as Tony’s eyes finally focused on him and he brushed the bangs that badly needed trimming from his eyes, then kissed him carefully and murmured, “love you.”

“Love you more.”

Stephen blinked at him, then reminded him, “sleep, just sleep, hmm?”

“Don’t worry, Doc.”

“I want to worry about you, idiot.”

“‘Kay.” He smiled at him once more, then rolled over and went back to sleep. Stephen shook his head, and slowly straightened to his full height. It took everything in him to leave the room, and return to what was considered the ‘real world’, when all he wanted to do was spend the next few hours doing nothing but holding the man who let out a snore less than a few feet away.

“You’ll call me if -”

“Yes, I promise, Stephen,” Pepper sighed as she closed his car door. “See you tonight.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Pep.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Nope. You need to give your brain a break. You are going to sit and eat some lunch, and then we are going to take Peter to the park, it’s a beautiful day, and you promised Stephen you’d rest.”

“Damn it, Potts.”

“Tony. You know better than anyone that sometimes you need to take a step back from things when they aren’t working, and you’ve got other, well, things on your mind these days, better things. Go on, sit.”

He sighed and walked over to the table to find Peter babbling at the peas he was happily squishing between his fingers. He leaned down and kissed his son’s ridiculous curls, then sat down next to him and met his questioning glance with a grin. “Da!”

“Heya, kiddo. Eat up, and then it’s time to go to the park, okay?”

Peter responded by grabbing Tony’s face with both hands, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Bath, I think, before we go, hmmm?”

“Bababa?”

“Yeah, of course with bubbles. Love you, kiddo.”

“Slow down.” 

Stephen came to a dead stop as Christine stood in front of him, and he rolled his eyes, but he took a much needed breath, then crossed his arms and growled out mostly to himself, “Palmer.”

“I know that look, it's your ‘I have to save the world’ look. I know it’s different because it’s Tony, but you need to calm down, Strange. Breathe. Come on. Take a breath, Stephen, there. Now, let it go.”

“Chrissy,” he sighed, then somehow managed to follow her directions, and finally felt his shoulders drop to their normal positions for the first time all day. “I -”

“Yeah, I know. You’re no good to him if you’re a mess too, hmm? I know you two are both full-blast drama queens, but he needs to see that you aren’t freaked out. I know, for a fact, that you are completely freaked out at the moment, but this is normal for him, isn’t it? This is part of him, it’s part of why you fell in love with him, you knew that part of him was there, and you are seeing it in full technicolor for the first time. Breathe, sweetie. There. Take tomorrow off. Nope. As your boss, I’m telling you to take tomorrow. You have a big weekend ahead of you. Now go home and take care of your family, hmm?”

He blinked at her in astonishment as if it hadn’t occurred to him that he had a family now, and he whimpered as he felt his legs start to go out from under him. “Palmer.”

“Come on, Strange.” She carefully helped him into the nearest chair and pushed his head between his knees. She rubbed circles between his shoulders and waited for him to catch his breath.

“What am I doing? What business do I have - I -”

“Breathe, don’t talk. Just breathe, hmm?”

“What do I know about raising a kid? About - about -”

“Breathe.”

He stopped trying to talk and focused on the slow movements of her fingers, that were coaxing him to finally breathe normally for the first time in days. “Don’t think, just breathe. Just breathe, Stephen.” Finally, she moved her fingers away, and he sat up and leaned his head against the wall. 

“It will be okay, Stephen.”

“Will it?”

“Yeah, it will.”

“What are you, a psychic?”

“No, just your friend. Your best friend who has known you forever? Right? I’ve seen you do things that other people said were impossible, and I can tell, even though I’ve never really met him, I know he is the best thing to ever happen to you, and if you believe he is worth it, then he is. Now, sit here, and don't move until you are sure you can get in that car and drive it safely, and go home to your guy, hmm?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might notice, I've made Palmer Strange's boss... she is a little older than he is, and she enjoys the administrative responsibilities of being in charge, while he doesn't in the least.


	7. Certainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tiniest bit of explicitude at the end of this chapter...

Tony parked Peter’s stroller and dropped onto the bench next to Pepper, and leaned his head wearily against her shoulder. 

“Tony?”

“I’m okay. No, I’m good, really.”

“Tony.”

“I freaked him out.”

“A bit, yeah, but I saw his face when he left this morning, the last thing he wanted to do today was leave you, he loves you and Peter.”

Tony sat up and sighed, “you don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“You are a bit of an acquired taste, you know, and I am surprised. I did a bit of research on him. Hold on. Before you flip out, it is part of my job to protect you, and as your friend, I was curious. Turns out you couldn’t have found someone more like you -”

“Pep. If he wants to tell me -”

“No skeletons rattling anywhere that I could find, just a brilliant guy, with a royally fucked up family. He survived it to become one of the best cardiovascular surgeons in the world, but has never given a single interview. He’s authored six papers, co-authored another three with a Christine Palmer. He's a driven guy, from the looks of it, and he loves you. He is a bit bewildered by it all, but it’s a normal reaction, you are quite bewildering even on your good days.”

“Gee, thanks, Pep. You say the sweetest things.”

“Point I’m trying to make, Tony, is that he wants to be there. With you, for you. It’s not about the money, he has his own, he has taken pains to avoid the press, so he doesn’t want to be famous, it’s just you; you and Peter he wants to be with.”

“Basically, you’re telling me, not to -”

“Try not to fuck it up.”

“Right.” He looked over at Peter who was chewing on his teething ring with gusto and groaned. More teeth on the way, already. He got to his feet, then unbuckled him and lifted him out of the stroller. “Swings, Pete?”

“Da.”

“Swings, it is, kiddo.” He walked over to the swing set, and eased Peter into the bucket swing, then pushed it until Peter squawked with laughter, and he looked over at Pepper who was grinning at him as she snapped a couple of pictures. He rolled his eyes at her, but couldn’t help but smile. He was happy, ridiculously happy, happier than was probably legal in most states or countries. “Don’t fuck it up, Stark, for once, just let it be, hmm?”

“Daaaaaadaaaaaa.”

“Yeah, I’ll try, Pete. I’ll try my best.” He eased the swing to a gentle stop, and lifted the boy out, and took a deep breath then kissed his hair. “We’re not alone anymore, kiddo. Ready to go home?”

“Da.” Peter tucked himself against Tony’s chest and sighed happily as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

“Good evening, Doctor Strange.”

“Hello, Jarvis.”

“He is -”

“In the workshop?”

“No, sir, resting, as instructed.”

“Oh, good. Thank you, Jarvis.”

“No, thank you, Doctor Strange.”

Stephen shook his head, but grinned as he toed off his shoes, dropped the bag of Chinese in the kitchen and quietly made his way to the bedroom, where he found Tony glaring at something on his laptop.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Tony put the laptop aside, and patted the empty space next to him. “Come ‘ere.”

“I got Chinese -” he began, then sighed as he dropped onto the bed and pulled Tony into his arms. “Missed you today, tell me -”

“I slept til noon, ate lunch, Pepper and I took Peter to the park, then I came in here and crashed for a couple hours... Are you sure?”

“Sure about what?”

Tony sat up and gazed down into Stephen’s eyes and saw everything he needed to know, but wanted to hear the words. “Us, you and me, Peter. My life is crazy, it was crazy even before Afghanistan -”

Stephen nodded, then reached up and laid a gentle hand on Tony’s jaw, and whispered, “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. You?”

“Me?”

“I don’t. I haven’t ever, my work has been my life, my entire life, as long as I can remember, and I’m not - I’m not good with people, but, I know, I do know I want to be with you, is that enough for you?”

Tony grinned at him, then leaned in close, and kissed him slowly, sighing as Stephen’s fingers tangled in his hair and he murmured, “yeah, Sunshine. You are more than enough. Sorry, that sounds wrong, but -”

Stephen smiled up at him, then closed his eyes and bit his lip as Tony’s fingers efficiently worked his tie from his collar, easily dispatched the button down shirt, his belt was next, and he couldn’t help the moan that escaped from his lips as his pants were pushed to his knees, and Tony’s hand slipped into his boxers and he stroked him in the way he knew drove him out of his mind. “Tony… please…”

“Tell me, Sunshine. Tell me what you want.”

“I want, please, I want to feel you, need to feel you inside me.” Tony nodded, then finished undressing Stephen before he slipped from the bed and shrugged from his robe, then tossed it on the back of a chair. “Beautiful. You don't know -"

“Doc.” Tony looked doubtfully at him, then shook his head. “You don’t have to -”

Stephen moved to the edge of the bed, turned on the bedside lamp, then cautiously made his way to where Tony was standing. They had always made love in the dark, and he had understood, he had his own scars that he preferred stay hidden away, but he wanted to let him know, needed Tony to see that he loved every single part of him, no matter how damaged he believed himself to be. 

He picked up Tony's trembling hand and kissed it before carefully placing it over the worst of his own scars, and drew in a sharp breath as Tony ran his fingers lightly over it, then paused and brought Stephen’s hand to rest not on the arc reactor itself, but over the roughly patched skin that surrounded it, and he choked back a sob as he knew better than anyone that it had taken more than sheer good luck for him to be standing in front of him now.

Tony shivered at his touch and whispered brokenly as he collapsed against Stephen’s shoulder, “there was a reason, had to be a reason I made it home, Doc. I think, before, I thought I was meant to - I don’t know, save the world, or something equally ridiculous. But, now? Every day, every moment I’m with you, I grow more and more convinced it was so I could meet you.”

Stephen didn’t have the words, he wasn’t even sure that language existed that could respond properly to Tony’s words, so he did the only thing that made sense to him. He lifted him carefully into his arms, kissed his forehead, and then kissed away the tears that flowed easily down Tony’s face, and carried him back to bed. Their bed, he thought to himself, as he placed his friend and lover in the very middle of it, then climbed in next to him, and drew him carefully against his chest. “So very beautiful, Tony.”

“Sunshine -”

“I’ll keep telling you that until you believe me. One day, you will, doll-face, I promise.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, more,” he whispered into Tony’s hair. He tried to smother a yawn, but failed miserably, and Tony couldn’t help but snort as he was soon fast asleep.


	8. A Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tells Stephen about Afghanistan, and again, another couple bits of explicitude...

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Doc. Are you hungry? We can heat up some of the Chinese, I put it away so it wouldn’t go to waste.”

“Yeah, I am, actually.” 

“You forget to eat sometimes.”

Stephen nodded. “There are times when I just see myself, well, what I need and want, isn’t as important as what I can do. My friend, Christine, she’s been my boss for a couple of years now, she’s always after me to take a break, reminds me to eat... she even made me take tomorrow off, so I can start packing up my apartment, if you, I mean, I know you probably have things to do -”

“Hey, Stephen. There is nothing I’d rather do than help you than get you moved in here. I’m yours.”

“Yeah?”

“All yours. I think you’ve figured out I’m not great at taking care of myself either, but I want you to know, if it is in my power to give you anything you want or need, you will have it, from now on, all you have to do is tell me.”

Stephen nodded at him, then let his fingers comb through Tony’s sleep-mussed hair and pulled him close. “Right now, all I want is you.”

“You got me, Sunshine.”

“I’m not normally like this.”

“Like, what?” Tony asked quietly.

“When I’m not here, when I’m working, I know precisely what and who I am. But, here, when I'm with you, I feel like I’m learning how to be, I guess, myself, for the first time, and it’s a bit like sky-diving. I did that once, a present to myself after my residency, before I started my first real job, just to see what it was like to lose control of everything. I never need to do that again, once was enough. I’m so used to being the one who is in charge, I know the rules, I wrote most of them. But with you, there’s no rule book, and I feel like I’m free-falling, that may sound -”

“No, I know exactly what you mean. You make me think, well, I, was always supposed to be a certain person when I grew up, there was never a question about who and what I was going to be, and before Afghanistan, I was exactly that. I had become exactly what my old man wanted me to be, he would have been _so proud,_ and then I realized. I knew what I had become, what my - what _the_ company had become because I hadn’t been paying attention. I woke up in that cave, and I shouldn’t have, but someone saved me. I know he didn’t have a choice, but somehow he did it, and he made sure I got out of that cave alive, and I can’t go back to being what I was. Then I met you, and you’ve made me begin to believe I can be more. I can be more just because you see me in a way no one ever has before.”

Tony startled awake as the images from his nightmare finally ended, and after he caught his breath, he rolled over to study Stephen’s face, so peaceful at rest, so damn beautiful, he hated needing to wake him up. “Sunshine?”

“Hmm? Tony? What is it?”

“I need to show you something.”

Stephen yawned, then rubbed the sleep from his eyes and nodded at him. He reached over and tucked away that one curl that wouldn’t stay put, and sighed as he recognized the look in Tony’s eyes. He had seen it so often in his own reflection, when he was working through something and was nearly there, but, for whatever reason, he couldn’t quite get there.

“I haven’t shown anyone yet, Pepper knows I’m working on something, but even she doesn’t know what it is. But I thought, I don’t know, just another set of eyes? I know you’re not an engineer, but you’re a surgeon, basically you’re an engineer, just -”

Stephen smiled softly at him and Tony rolled his eyes, then took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Damn, I, uhm. Hmm. I have to tell you, it’s how I got out, how I escaped. I haven’t told anyone, but it’s time, I need to tell you, but I think it’s easier to begin by showing you. Will you come downstairs with me?”

“Of course.” They dressed in silence, then Tony took him by the hand and led him to the elevator. As the floors went past, Stephen could feel Tony's stress level increase exponentially, and he knew all he could do was hold on.

“Jarvis.”

“Morning, sirs.”

Tony muttered, “lights,” and the workshop sprang to life. “Jarvis. Display Mark I.”

“Sir?”

“Jarvis.”

“Sir.” 

Stephen drew in a sharp breath as a holographic image of what seemed to be a roughly drawn suit of armor shimmered on the worktable. “They had said they would release me once I built them their own version of the Jericho, it was the latest weapon I had designed, the reason I was in Afghanistan, I was there to demonstrate it for our military - they had caught wind of it - and captured me by blowing up the caravan I was in going back to the base. 

They were never going to let me go, once I had built it, I would no longer be of any use to them. There was a man, a man I had met once, nearly a decade earlier, of course, I didn’t remember him. They had destroyed his village, killed his family, without him, I wouldn’t be here now. He wasn’t a surgeon, obviously.” Tony snorted and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “But he did his best. His name was Yinsen. He didn’t make it out of the cave. Sorry. I’m telling this all wrong, I've never said any of this out loud before."

"You're doing fine."

"Right. Well, instead of making them a Jericho, which I never would have done, I used the equipment they gave me to build this and to make a ridiculously long story short, after I destroyed their camp, and all of my weapons in it, I blasted out of there. I flew, technically, for about thirty seconds, far enough to crash land in the desert and they found me a day later. I got to the airport only to find out about Annie, and I, hell. I left California, came here, and tried to start over. For months all I did was take care of Peter, when I wasn’t wrangling over the fallout of, never mind, that’s over now.” 

He paused as he glanced over at Stephen who seemed to be taking everything in as calmly as anyone could, he supposed. He was still breathing at any rate, though he had sat down hard on the stool as the hologram had appeared. He hadn’t bolted, yet, at least.

“Then I realized I needed to upgrade this thing,” he tapped at the arc reactor in his chest, and sighed as he went on, “and then I started tinkering with the armor, not as a weapon, really, but as a tool that could be used -”

“Revenge, you mean,” Stephen muttered under his breath.

Tony rubbed at his nose and shifted his feet, then admitted quietly, “yeah. In the beginning. But then, it became more of an engineering problem that I need to solve. I do know, though, I am certain that, if I had been on my own, if I didn’t have Peter to take care of, I know I would have -" He ran his fingers through his hair again and looked over at Stephen, “but then, I met you. And I thought, if something ever happened to you, and I could have done something about it, before, but didn’t… I started working on it again. Jarvis, Mark II.” 

The original design vanished and was replaced by a sleeker, more aerodynamic model and Stephen let out an admiring whistle. “Tony. It’s beautiful.”

“Doesn’t work yet. There’s something off, and I can’t -”

Stephen moved to stand behind him and slipped his arms around his waist and after pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades, he breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt the tension in Tony’s body ease as he kissed his way up his neck and finally paused as he whispered at his ear, “thank you for telling me, I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you to do. Thank you for trusting me enough, thank you for trusting me with your heart, doll-face. For now, we are going to go back to bed for a couple more hours, and then we are going to my apartment and pack it up, and -” his hands moved lower until he felt Tony shiver in his arms, then heard him gasp as his fingers stroked him to hardness and Tony spun in his arms then turned him against the table -”yes. Tony, please.” They both groaned as Tony pressed into him and stilled.

“Stephen.”

“Tony, please…”

“I -” Tony closed his eyes and pulled out slightly, then pushed back in, out and in, over and over until Stephen cried out his name and came untouched. “God, Stephen.” He groaned as he felt himself pulse inside him, then he slowly withdrew and carefully brought Stephen into his arms. “If anything ever happened to you, it’s only been a few weeks, but -”

“Shhh… I’m here, love. I’m here.” He tucked himself around Tony, and held him as he trembled. “I’m here, Tony. You’re safe, you’re home, love. Do you want to go back to bed?”

Tony shook his head and asked quietly, “bath?” and leaned into his chest as Stephen nodded and kissed him softly.

“Yeah, I think a bath is in order.” Stephen finally realized what had caused the outpouring of revelations, and whispered, “bad nightmare, hmm?”

“New one. Don’t know what it is. It was just dark, nothing but darkness, and I couldn’t get out of it.” He pressed his face against Stephen’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “It made me realize that I needed you to know what happened to me, it wasn't fair that you didn't know."

“I know. Tell you what, after we unload the moving truck, the hardest thing will be moving the piano, I don’t have a lot of stuff, you can talk me through the blueprints and maybe something will click in that brilliant brain of yours, hmm? Bath time.”

“Bath time.” Stephen kissed his forehead, then took him by the hand and led him onto the elevator, holding him in his arms until the trembling had finally calmed, then into the bathroom, where he turned on the water, added the bath oil, then slowly helped Tony out of his shirt, jeans and underwear and into the tub. He slowly undressed, keeping his eyes locked onto Tony’s face, the face he had grown to know and love so well in such a short time. “Tony -”

“Hmm?”

He blinked at him, and tried to erase the vision currently in his head, the same darkness that Tony had a glimpse of in his nightmare. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” He slid into the tub behind him, and sighed into the warmth as Tony leaned into his chest and closed his eyes. He let his hands explore his lover’s shoulders and arms, swearing to himself each time he came across a bit of shrapnel that would always remind him, remind them, and he understood. 

Years ago, he had taken an oath to do no harm, but he was certain that if he ever came across anyone who had anything to do with what Tony had been through, he would kill them with his bare hands without a thought, without remorse. He buried his face into Tony’s hair, breathing in the scent that had become home to him, and blinked at him as he turned to face him.

“Sunshine?”

“It’s, I -”

Tony nodded and he could see from the look in his eyes, that he believed he thought differently of him now. “No. Stop. Look at me, Tony. I love you. You. For who you are. I know you sometimes have a hard time believing me, I get it, I do. You have made me rethink how I see things, the world, my place in it, and there are moments when I don’t know what to do with everything that's swirling in my brain, but know this, know I love you, and for the first time in my life, I know my place, my home is with you.”

Tony blinked hard at him, then cradled his face in his hands and kissed him in a way that shut everything down. All Stephen could sense was his lips on his, his tongue tasting his own, his breathing as it changed as he settled one hand on his hip while the other played with his nipple before slowly moving its way down to gently hold his length, and work it until he whimpered into his mouth, then came with a moan, as to not wake the rest of the house. “My home is where you are Tony, for now and forever. Do you hear me?”

Tony nodded against his chest and whispered, “yeah, Doc. I hear you, I hear you. God - I love you.”


	9. Rhapsody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an epilogue - more parts of this story are coming....

“I hope you don’t mind where the piano is, how the hell did you even get it in your apartment in the first place?” Tony asked as he collapsed onto the piano bench and closed his eyes.

“I had it put together in the apartment, it was a restoration, took weeks. I paid her enough so she would work at night, when I got home, I got to see how it was constructed, she worked in silence, most amazing weeks of my life, until recently. I was set on never leaving that apartment, and then I met you.”

Tony shook his head at him in amazement and patted the space next to him. “Will you play something for me?”

Stephen smiled at him, and even though Tony knew he had to be as exhausted as he was himself, he nodded, then began to play a piece of music he began to recognize as A Rhapsody in Blue. Tony could only watch, once again astonished by the man who sat inches away from him, as his fingers flew by memory, and as he finished, he muttered, “it really needs the jazz band. Without it, it’s just a showy solo piece. And to answer your question, I’m fine with it being down here, the atmospheric conditions are perfect for it. What?”

Tony leaned his chin on his shoulder, and breathed him in. He smelled of sweat and dust, they had managed to pick the hottest day of the year to pack up and move his belongings, and he could detect every single part of the city on him, and realized it was more than that. He smelled of home, Stephen was his home. “I, just - I’m so glad you’re here, and I want to apologize now for any stupid, moronic things I may do in the near and or distant future. Maybe we should come up with a contract that states I get three, no, better make that four stupid acts a month -” he sighed as Stephen pulled a cobweb from his hair, then grinned at him and kissed him lightly.

“I’m home, Tony.”

“Yeah, you are. Welcome home, Sunshine.”


End file.
